by Edward Brody
Tristyn pushed open the door to the control room, and as expected, Snake was sitting in a chair with a blaster pointed towards her as soon as she entered.
“Ahh, Tristyn,” Snake exhaled. “I’m glad you guys finally made it.”
Mich followed Tristyn into the control room and after giving Snake a quick smile, his eyes glanced to the body on the floor, then to the corner of the room where the Queen and Lena were huddled together nervously. Lena immediately recognized Mich, but the Queen’s face was blank.
Lena whispered something into the Queen’s ear, and her eyes grew wide with surprise.
“Where’s Walt and Earl? Why are you two alone?”
“Well,” Tristyn’s voice was shaky. “Walter’s leg is broken, and Earl is dead.”
“Earl’s dead? What are you talking about?”
Tristyn’s eyes grew solemn as she remembered her brother, and she fought tears back as she spoke. “We were attacked by one of the Queen’s ships on our way over here. Earl used an escape pod to detonate a missile before it hit the Zatyr. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be alive. Walter was hurt in the crash.”
Snake picked up metal drinking mug that was sitting on a table nearby and flung it towards the Queen. It clanged against the wall right above her head, sending brown liquid everywhere, then fell to the ground with a ting. He stood up furiously and whipped a pistol from his belt as he spoke. “You know, I should just kill you right now,” Snake said, manically, aiming the pistol at the Queen’s face. The Queen huddled closer to Lena, as if her comfort could save them from a blaster shot.
“Walter wanted us to continue with the plan,” Mich spoke up. “He’s on Rashada. Everyone is on Rashada. Injured, but here.”
Snake’s breathing mask hissed as he panted, and he lowered his pistol after a few moments. He spun around and looked a Mich. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”
“I’m Mich,” he replied and reached out for a handshake.
Snake eyed the hand suspiciously. “So you’re part of the rebellion?”
“No, actually,” Mich replied. Snake tilted his head in a questioning manner. “I’m from Earth. It’s a long story, but I was recovered from E-17.”
Snake laughed, and his hand grew tight around his pistol. “E-17 is uninhabitable. What kind of bullshit are you feeding me?”
“It’s true,” Tristyn insisted. “Something about him being frozen right before The Cleanse. He was found while salvagers were mining the planet.”
“I found Walter and the others after I was sent to Rashada,” Mich added.
“And he helped saved us after we were captured by Nerrian soldiers.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Snake chirped, sensing the honesty in their eyes. “So you lived on E-motherfucking-17?”
Mich nodded.
“Maybe you’ll do well to help us build Rashada into something like E-17 used to be. We’ve got books and stories about that stuff, but someone who actually lived it is invaluable.” Snake holstered his pistol and sat back down in his chair. “Sorry, I don’t have anything proper for you guys to sit in, but I suppose we should go ahead and get this show on the road. I’d like to get some fresh air sooner than later. We can talk about E-17 when we’re done.”
Snake pulled the gas mask off his head and sat it on the table. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his transmitter, then motioned for Tristyn and Mich to get behind him. “Don’t say anything unless I tell you to,” he said towards The Queen and Lena.
He pressed a few buttons on the device, and after a moment, an image of Lady Hamm appeared. She stared suspiciously at strange human on the other end of the transmission. “Who is this? This is a restricted–“
“This is Snake Townsend and–” he saw the council member reach to power down her transmitter. “Hey, hey!” he snapped, then turned the device so that the Queen could be seen. “Special transmission from the Queen.”
Lady Hamm gasped, and her eyes whisked open. “What is going on here?”
“As I was saying. My name is Snake, and I represent the humans on Rashada. I have your Queen, and I’m about to make a few demands very clear. Try anything funny and the Queen dies. Get me the other council members now.”
Lady Hamm paused for a moment, then she reached for her device and summoned the other council members. Images of Salil, Kontra and the other councilmen appeared. “It seems we have a problem,” Lady Hamm muttered.
“Snake…” Salil immediately recognized the goggle-eyed man.
“The Queen and her trusted assistant are with me,” Snake hissed. “And today things are about to change.”
“Impossible,” Kontra said. “I don’t know what look-a-like you’ve got there, but the Queen is on her throne in Nerria.”
Snake chuckled. “My agent currently controls the throne, hiding behind the mask of the Queen. And before you get any wise ideas, I’d suggest not attempting any moves that would put your Queen at risk. That would include trying to capture my agent or an attack here on Rashada. If I get even the slightest bit suspicious that something is going on, I’ll kill the Queen and…” Snake turned his head towards the prisoners. “What’s your name honey?”
“Lena…”
“I’ll killed the Queen and Ms. Lena.”
“How can we be sure that’s the real Queen?” Salil asked.
Snake smiled. “Come here, Queen Vashalla.” Snake motioned with his hands. The Queen stood and approached cautiously. When she was in arm’s reach, Snake grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her with enough force to make her squeal. He simultaneously whipped his pistol out and placed it against her head. “You can take your chances guessing if she’s real or not.”
The council members looked shocked. They had never seen the Queen treated in such a way, and the sight caused several of them to gasp.
“Okay,” Salil begged. “What are you demands?”
Mich waited patiently in the background, trying to find the right moment to make a move against Snake. His back was turned to them, but he had hesitated already. Tristyn had tapped him on the arm and looked at him, but he didn’t make a move, still feeling uncertain about striking Snake down. The man seemed to be as crazy as Tristyn had led him to be, but was it right for him to die? Was there no other way?
Even if he did strike now, it was too dangerous with his pistol already drawn and the Queen nearby.
“Rashada will be an independent entity with no affiliation to the Queen or the Council. All non-humans on Rashada will be withdrawn, and I want an agreement that there will be no more military action towards the humans on Rashada.”
“Only the Queen can decree such a thing,” Kontra explained.
Snake released the Queen from his grip and slowly put his pistol back in his belt. A grin creeped over his face. “Of course,” he replied. “But in order to make it official, I want the Council to bear witness.” Snake turned gently to his side and faced the Queen who had created some distance between herself and her captor. “So Queen…” Snake cooed. “Do you agree to the demands or not?”
Mich saw his opening and gulped. He knew that it may be the last time that he’d be in such an advantageous position. His eyes glanced towards Lena, and he could see the fear and desperation in her eyes. He panned to Tristyn and felt like she was asking, begging him for help.
Two different women from vastly different positions, both whom Mich cared for and both whose lives teetered on Mich’s actions. Something about their eyes told him that he was making the right choice. What Snake was doing was wrong.
He took a deep breath of the dusty air and felt his life force spring out inside him. In a split second, he reached behind his back, unfastened the copper sword and brought it out in front of him, crackling with power.
The quick sound of sparking energy is what alerted Snake that something was going on. Before he had even turned his head, his hand found his pistol, and when he whipped around, he could see Mich rushing towards him with a glowing sword.
He had no time to aim, but he managed to get a shot off just as Mich lunged out. The sword hit the barrel of his blaster, and the blaster shot hit the sword, causing an explosion of energy that sent both men flying backwards.
The Queen and Lena screamed, and Tristyn motioned for them to follow her. The two prisoners stood and ran behind Tristyn as she slid out the control room door.
Mich’s head was pounding as he picked himself up off the ground. He breathed heavily and wished more than ever that he could get even a single breath of fresh air.
“You fucking bastard!” Snake yelled out, standing to his feet and scurrying to grab his weapon. When he found his blaster, he turned to the disoriented Mich and pointed it at him. “You would kill one of your own kind to save those wretches? I’d think that someone straight from E-17 would know better.”
Mich raised his hands in submission. “On Earth, people of different, races, colors and beliefs killed each other for their differences. It was wrong and what lead to the destruction of our planet. It’s great that human are united now, but I can see that we’re all heading down the same crooked path. Lena and the Queen are just as human as we are. It might take time for the other species to accept us, but we should learn to live together peacefully.”
“Fuck your nonsense!” Snake said and began pulling on his trigger rapidly. The pistol clicked with each pull but didn’t fire, apparently damaged during the hit.
Mich quickly turned around and rushed for his sword with Snake right after him, throwing his broken blaster to the side. As soon as Mich leaned over and grabbed his sword, Snake kicked it from his hands and landed a hard punch to the side of Mich’s head.
Mich stumbled back, his ears ringing and flashes of white strobing in front of his eyes as Snake continued to punch him in the face. Snake kneed him in the gut, causing him to keel over, and right before he fell to his knees, Snake tugged him by the shirt then grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall.
Snake’s hands squeezed Mich’s throat tightly, cutting off his air supply, and pushed with enough force to cause Mich to stand on his tip-toes. He watched as Mich’s face turned red and eyed the dragon tattoo on the side of his cheek. “What are you? Some kind of wannabe Keeper?” Snake snickered. “A real Keeper would know he doesn’t need to light up his sword to kill from someone from behind.” He snorted in disgust. “No, you’ll never be a Keeper. You’re nothing but a piece of shit.” He said it with such contempt, speckles of saliva flew out of his mouth and on to Mich’s face.
Hope was fading away from Mich. He could feel himself getting dizzy from lack of blood and oxygen. His hands grasped at his neck, fruitlessly trying to pry away Snake’s tight grip. Slowly, his own strength began to weaken and he began to fade into darkness.
When the black surrounded him, Snake’s last words echoed out in his mind. Nothing but a piece of shit.
Nothing but a chickenshit.
How similar that his words had been to Tony’s. He guessed that Snake was right. Why did he “light up” his sword when all he needed to do was strike him from behind? He cursed himself and was resolved to his death.
But something strange was happening. He keep getting the distinct feeling that there was a threat nearby. A trigger to tell him to snap out of the darkness and nullify the threat, the same way that he had so many times when he was meditating. It twinged at him again and again. In response, he searched for his energy, and to his surprise, a small flame appeared.
No, he thought. He was not just a chickenshit. No, he thought. He was not a piece of shit. His flame grew brighter. He was Mich Sandstone, and he had made a damn good life on Earth and was about to make an even better one in his new world. Suddenly, his flame was burning brighter than ever before, and he pushed it towards his hands.
Snake observed the dying human curiously. His face had grown purple, and his arms were limp, but the dragon on the side of his face had mysteriously started to glow. What was going on?
Suddenly, Mich snapped his eyes opened, and he could feel the power roaring through his hands. He reached them back quickly, then lashed out, striking with enough force that his fingers crushed through Snake’s ribcage and into the soft, warm goo of human internals.
Blood spurt out of Snakes mouth, and he released Mich immediately, gasping for air and clutching at the massive wounds Mich’s hands had made.
Mich tilted his neck with a crack, suddenly feeling relatively unharmed from the choke. He walked towards his sword with a confidence in his step that he had never felt before. With sword in hand, he returned to Snake, who was writhing on the ground, trying desperately to find air but chocking on his own blood. “I didn’t want to kill you, Snake. But I guess in rare instances, someone has to die for the greater good of humanity.”
Energy crackled through Mich’s sword, and he felled and single, heavy blow towards Snake’s neck, cutting it cleanly and ending the man’s pain.
Mich wiped the blood from his blade and slid it under the linens on his back, and then left the control room to join his friends on the surface. He was so anxious to make sure Lena and Tristyn were okay, he didn’t even notice Snake’s transmission device was still on and that the Council had witnessed the whole ordeal.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Your highness,” one of the short, stubby servants with an uneven head said to the Queen, “the royal feast is ready.”
“Thank you.” The Queen smiled and walked happily towards the banquet hall with a slight bounce in her step. When she turned the final corner, a guard was already waiting with the door open. She smiled at the guard, and he smiled back.
When she stepped inside the room, she was shocked. Lena was wrapped in a towel, clearly having just finished a bath, and she was being restrained by two guards with her hands behind her back. The dining table was empty–no feast in sight. The guard who was holding the door stepped inside and locked the door behind him so there was no escape. Two additional guards stepped behind the Queen and grabbed each of her arms.
“How dare you lay hands on the Queen. I will have you all executed for this!”
Salil and the real Queen stepped from behind a blind corner. “I don’t think so,” the real Queen said. “I could have you hanged for what you’ve done, but I’ll probably just let you rot in the prisons.”
“Who is this impostor?!” the other Queen barked.
Salil nodded apologetically towards the real Queen. “I’m sorry, but I have to check.”
“Go ahead…” the Queen replied and opened her eye. Salil pulled out a small vile with a dropper and squeezed a droplet of liquid into her eye.
Nothing happened.
The other Queen squirmed in the guard’s grip, and Salil had to hold her eyelid open in order to put a droplet in her eye. When he did, her pupil changed to a yellow, crescent moon.
“Well, that’s that,” Salil muttered.
“Take them to prison, and don’t let them touch anyone on the way,” the Queen ordered.
“It’s concerning that shapeshifters have made their way into our galaxy. They are partially to blame for the last Galactic War,” Salil cautioned.
“Only two as far as we know,” the Queen said. “And they were mercenaries.”
“Let’s hope it stays at only two.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
A day later, Mich found himself standing in the Queen’s hall with Walter, Tristyn, Scraggs, and Stryker. Gathered on each side were all seven council members and a host of the Queen’s court. Standing beside the Queen was Lena, and sitting in a wheelchair was Tamor, his body covered in bandages.
“There are many things that we need to cover here,” the Queen said. “Walter St. James, you stand accused of leading a rebellion against the galaxy and have been charged with the murder of Misharishindaril and her guard.”
Walter’s leg was set in a cast, and a boxy metal frame was encircling the cast, allowing him to stand with a broken leg. “I haven’t murdered any–”
“Your c
harges are dismissed,” the Queen interrupted. “We have video surveillance of Misharishindaril walking into Carl Smithy’s room prior to the murders, and he has since gone missing. Further, I have now seen the conditions on Rashada, and I can understand the reasons for your actions.”
The tension in Walter’s body relaxed, and he gave a bow of gratitude.
“You all risked your lives to save me, and I’m awarding you each a medal in honor for your deeds. The crown will pay for both of your ships to be restored, and you’ll be given a sum of credits as a token of my gratitude.”
Everyone bowed in thanks, and Walter spoke, “Your Majesty, the people of Rashada are–“
“Payment for work in the mines and the factory will be raised substantially to make sure that everyone on Rashada can make a living wage, and safety equipment will be provided. Kontra,” The Queen turned towards the council seats. “Please make sure that all workers are provided back payment for any days that they’ve worked under the old pay system based on the new pay scale.”
Kontra nodded.
Walter and Mich smiled wide, and Tristyn could barely hold in her squeal.
“Mich Sandstone,” the Queen turned to Mich. “It’s my understanding that you are responsible for Tamor being here with us today. You also risked your life against our captor, and the Council was moved by your words and your abilities.”
“Thank you,” Mich said with a humble grin. He felt honored although a little shy.
“There was a recent dismissal from the Council, and perhaps it’s time that humans are represented properly in the galaxy. I’d like to extend that offer to you.”
Mich perked up. The sudden invitation seemed nice, but after learning so much from Vishi and Stryker, he knew that he had another destiny that he needed to follow through with first. “I’m grateful for the offer, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. There’s much I still have to learn about the universe, and I’m not sure if I’m cut out for politics.”